410 AMARANTACES (Cooke and Wright). [ Amaranthus. 
ovate, hyaline, with a strong midrib produced into a long hard 
point ; perianth 1} lin. long; sepals 5, oblong-lanceolate, scarious, 
3500 ft., Galpin, 2039 ! 
KaLaHari Reaion: Transvaal; near Lydenburg, Wilms, 1251! Standerton, 
Burtt-Davy, 1805! Potchefstroom, Burtt-Davy, 1050 ! 
Eastern Recon: Natal; near Mooi River, 3000-4000 ft., Wood, 4440! 
Cultivated in many warm countries for its grain. In India it supplies the staple 
food of hill tribes over a large area. 
3. A. retroflexus (Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. ii, 1407); stem erect, 
obsoletely striate, more or less pubescent, 2-3 ft. or more high, 
branched below; younger branches recurved, then ascending ; 
leaves 3-44 in. long, 14-24 in. broad, ovate-lanceolate or rhomboid- 
ovate, subobtuse, with undulate margins, pale glaucous-green ; 
main nerves numerous, conspicuous below, white ; petioles 2-3 
in. long, stout; flowers pale green, in dense branched panicles ; 
spikes erect or spreading, the terminal spike rather short, rigid ; 
bracteoles reaching 2 lin. long, recurved, narrowly lanceolate, 
scarious, midrib strong, produced into a long hard sharp point ; 
sepals linear-oblong, obtuse, hyaline, 1 lin. long, 3 lin. broad, 
rounded, sometimes slightly retuse at the apex, with a green midrib ; 
stamens 5; capsule less than 1 lin. long, ovoid, compressed, 
membranous, circumscissile about the middle ; stigmas 3, recurved, 
} lin. long; seeds 4 lin. in diam., lenticular, dark brown, nearly 
black. Moguin in DO. Prodr. xiii. ii. 258; Willd. Amarant. 33, 
t. 11, fig. 21. 
Coast REcIon: Queenstown Div. ; Shiloh, Bawr, 1139! 
CenTRAL REGIon: Somerset Div. ; in fields at the foot of Bosch Berg, 2500 ft., 
certainly an introduction, MacOwan, 1957 ! 
An introduction from America, rapidly becoming naturalized. 
4. A. Thunbergii (Moquin in DC. Prodr. xiii. ii. 262); stems 
14 ft. high, ascending, striate, glabrous, often tinged with purple, 
branched ; leaves 4-1 in. long, 2-6 lin. broad, ovate, obovate or 
spathulate, obtuse, sometimes excised at the apex, cuneate at the 
base, apiculate and with more or less undulate margins; nerves 
elevated beneath ; petioles }—1 in. long ; flowers in small axillary 
heads ; bracteoles 1 lin. long, lanceolate, with a strong midrib 
produced into a hard sharp point ; perianth 14 lin. long; sepals 3, 
unequal, ovate, subacute, cuspidate; stamens 3; capsule ovoid, 
1} lin. long, narrowed at the apex, circumscissile about the middle, 
membranous ; stigmas 3, about } lin. long ; seeds 4—} lin. in diam., 
lenticular, with acute margins, dark brown, shining. A grecizans, 
Baker & C. B. Cl. in Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. vi. i. 34 (not of Linn.). 
